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Articles 391 - 420 of 476
Full-Text Articles in Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion
A Study On The Principles And Methods Of A Retreat Program For The Spiritual Growth Of Youth With A Focus On The United Retreat Ministry In South Korea, Eunho Lee
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
The purpose of this thesis is to help Korean churches create more effective retreats for the spiritual growth of their youth. Most of the youth in Korean churches participate in spiritual retreats during their summer and winter vacations. In the past, many of the youth converted or recovered their faith through retreats. Nowadays, the Korean youth are exposed to all sorts of secularized culture and media, which result in the deterioration of their spirituality. Therefore, it is a major challenge for youth ministry in Korean churches to have their youth experience personal spiritual growth at retreats. The writer has organized …
Early Creedal Formulations & Theological Discourse: Toward A Systematic Understanding Of Theology Via The Creedal Process, Mark Moore
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
Theology is a grand conversation, a dialogue of past and present voices. It is an open and free dialogue yet it is also guided by clear identity markers. This study examines the function of early creedal formulations as essential identity markers in theological discourse with the goal of constructing an approach to systematic theology that mirrors the creedal process. This approach, which is called the Essential Identity Markers model or simply EIM, first identifies and articulates the essential identity markers of a given theological category, and by doing so defines the proper parameters for theological discourse while allowing such discourse …
The Importance Of The Culturalization Process For The Transition From A Traditional Church To A Small Group-Focused Church, Young Lee
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
The purpose of this research is to clarify the importance of the process of culturalization, which takes place before a full-scale transition, to Korean churches that are attempting to change the direction of their ministries from traditional to small group-oriented ministries. Since the introduction of the small group ministry, Korean churches have been trying to convert to small group churches. Many churches, however, are struggling with the transition due to hastiness instead of following the right philosophy and roadmap. Having led cell group and small group ministries for the last ten years in Korean churches in both the United States …
Dirty Discipleship: The Essential Nature Of Recovery Ministry In Fulfilling The Great Commission, Richard Nichols
Dirty Discipleship: The Essential Nature Of Recovery Ministry In Fulfilling The Great Commission, Richard Nichols
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
Christians are commanded to bear one another’s burdens with the specific purpose of restoring them in fellowship with God and others. One of the greatest areas of slavery in America is found within issues related to abuse, abandonment, and addictions. Recovery ministries seek to help people who have been broken by these issues. The Great Commission commands believers to make disciples of every nation. Recovery ministry is discipleship in the hardest areas of life and is dirtier and messier than many Christians wish to get. The purpose of this project is to present the need for every church to be …
The Dying Of The American Church: Five Biblical Principles For Revival, Stan Mars
The Dying Of The American Church: Five Biblical Principles For Revival, Stan Mars
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
The majority of churches in America continue to suffer a numerical plateau or a decline in church growth. As a result of disobedience to God to follow His commandments in the making of disciples, the church also suffers from a flat lined, virtually non-existent, adult conversion rate. People of the world who do not know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior are not being evangelized by the church using the first century process of discipleship and therefore, the numbers of conversions to Christ are dismal. The modern day American Church needs to return to the first century process of …
Humanity's Capacity To Apprehend Aesthetic Value As An Argument For God's Existence, Walter Davis
Humanity's Capacity To Apprehend Aesthetic Value As An Argument For God's Existence, Walter Davis
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
This work presents a theistic argument for the existence of God based on man’s ability to apprehend, aesthetic value. The argument is called the Aesthetic Theistic Argument. Man’s ability to appreciate aesthetic value is unique among biological life forms and is common to every human culture. Explaining the origins of this ability implies a creator/designer who also apprehends aesthetic value. The study both affirms the argument for theism and critiques the philosophical and scientific foundations of Darwinian naturalism. The result of this study affirms the cause for man’s capacity to apprehend aesthetic value is best explained by the existence of …
The Church Is Familial And Is Built On Spiritually Strong Families, Yat Lau
The Church Is Familial And Is Built On Spiritually Strong Families, Yat Lau
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
Christ’s headship of the church has strong parallels to the husband’s headship of the family unit. As postmodernism, socio-economic factors, egalitarianism, globalization and shifts in the communicational processes drive inter-generational issues to greater heights, insidiously tear families apart—relationally, intellectually and spiritually. On the other hand, the church models the world through its discipleship programs, organization structures and has asserted itself as the spiritual head of the home. This paper will survey Christian young adults to identify key influences on their spiritual formation and family ministries the church provide to support families. The paper will provide a critique on family-equipping ministries …
The Battle Is Real: Spiritual Warfare, Discipleship, And The Christian “Soldier”, Frank Hain
The Battle Is Real: Spiritual Warfare, Discipleship, And The Christian “Soldier”, Frank Hain
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
A review of current literature demonstrates a plethora of material focused on various deliverance techniques, yet very little material is available to assist pastors with developing a spiritual warfare “basic training” plan. The purpose of this project is to illuminate a ministry’s desperate need to adopt a spiritual warfare worldview, to present the basic elements essential to a spiritual warfare basic training plan, and to create an effective strategy for implementing such a plan. Based on surveys and questionnaires sent to pastors and other ministry leaders, the project reveals the need for a spiritual warfare basic training plan for any …
A Non-Voluntarist Theory: An Alternative Evangelical Apologetic For Dealing With The Euthyphro Dilemma, Evan Posey
A Non-Voluntarist Theory: An Alternative Evangelical Apologetic For Dealing With The Euthyphro Dilemma, Evan Posey
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
This dissertation presents an alternative response to the Euthyphro dilemma that will be referred to as the Non-Voluntarist Theory. It offers a critical evaluation of contemporary evangelical divine command theories to demonstrate the inherent ambiguity as they relate to Divine Command Theory, and their lack of apologetic force for answering the Euthyphro dilemma. To accomplish this task, it is important to understand how the Euthyphro Dilemma relates to theology and apologetics in general, and the contemporary attempts to ground objective moral values and duties in particular. The topic relates to theology, since one’s response to the Euthyphro Dilemma can implicitly …
Every Life Matters To God: A New Paradigm Of Care For Suicide Prevention, Antonio Campbell
Every Life Matters To God: A New Paradigm Of Care For Suicide Prevention, Antonio Campbell
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
Since 2001, National Guard soldiers and airmen have been ordered to multiple deployments In Iraq and Afghanistan. The Department of Defense (DOD) has released data that shows a dramatic increase in suicides by military personnel. This author has chosen this topic to develop a pastoral care strategy, by civilian clergy and/or military chaplains, to help lessen the number of suicides by National Guard personnel. The research will introduce a strategy in which pastoral care practitioners can be actively involved in the therapeutic counseling of National Guard soldiers and airmen who may be at risk. Currently, there is a lack of …
The Study On The Problems Of The Current Korean Churches, Hai Lee
The Study On The Problems Of The Current Korean Churches, Hai Lee
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
Christianity in South Korean experienced unusually rapid growth for almost 100 years: The revival of church members, the growth of prayer, worship, and evangelism. However, current Korean churches face many problems that have stopped the growth, and actually put the Korean church in a decline. The problems, but are not limited to, are unethical aspects of pastor; including tax problem, huge church constructions, and loving materials. Korean churches should know why these kinds of problems occur and what the solutions are. There are many studies regarding the development of Korean churches but there are few studies examining the problems of …
Discipleship Counseling: Developing Healthy, Growing, Multiplying Followers Of Jesus, James Albritton
Discipleship Counseling: Developing Healthy, Growing, Multiplying Followers Of Jesus, James Albritton
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
This project will look at how professional or lay counseling can increase the effectiveness of making and maturing followers of Jesus. An effective strategy for disciple-making that targets the whole person will be established to help followers of Jesus overcome the emotional pain due to past sin and hurts which have left them ineffective and stagnant in their growth as disciples. Research will be conducted through articles, websites, and books dealing with the subject as well as a survey of at least 50 pastors to determine whether a clear process of disciple-making exists in their church and if any form …
A Model For Biblical Worldview Development In Evangelical Christian Emerging Adults, Roger Erdvig
A Model For Biblical Worldview Development In Evangelical Christian Emerging Adults, Roger Erdvig
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
The purpose of this grounded theory study was to develop a model of Biblical worldview development during emerging adulthood for Evangelical Christians, ages 18-23. Participants (N = 20) were Christian emerging adults who were nominated as having strong Biblical worldviews. Data was collected via personal worldview development timelines, semi-structured interviews, and a focus group session with select participants. Analysis of the data was conducted utilizing Corbin and Strauss’ (2015) grounded theory analysis protocol. The model generated in this study suggests that maturation in Biblical worldview results from employing various means to process the different prompts that Christian emerging adults encounter. …
Are Christian College Students Equipped To Share Their Faith With Their Muslim Friends?: A Plan Of Action, Tim Orr
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
According to Pew Research Center, the U.S. Muslim population will double by 2030. Training the church to reach this group of people is vital. This project proposes that the Christian college is the best resource to train students to reach their Muslim friends and neighbors for Christ because these institutions have at their disposal a rich reservoir of resources that are vital to providing the biblical, theological, missiological, sociological, and cross-cultural knowledge that is necessary to be effective witnesses for Christ. The project also identifies four important components to successful ministry to Muslims. The four components include spiritual vitality, cultural …
An Analysis Of Causes And Impacts Of Depression In Pastors, Derienzia Johnson
An Analysis Of Causes And Impacts Of Depression In Pastors, Derienzia Johnson
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
Depression is becoming more common in pastors because of the stress and strains of ministry, as well as other personal issues. Therefore, this analysis looks into how different mechanisms such as social support and traditional religious values tend to function across different groups of the religious community. The purpose of this study is to understand the issues that would cause a pastor to become depressed and also to devise a plan of action that will provide alternatives to dealing with depression in a positive and healthy manner. This analysis will expand on existing literature and reports that argue on both …
The Transitioning Of A Non-Functional Church Into A Functional Church: The Great Commission Commandment Mandate, Charlie Williams
The Transitioning Of A Non-Functional Church Into A Functional Church: The Great Commission Commandment Mandate, Charlie Williams
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
From conception, America has embraced the Christian church as its cornerstone. However, as noted by Barnes and Lowry, “Church attendance has decreased substantially in recent years in comparison to the 1950s and 60s. The majority of Americans do not attend church on a regular basis.” This thesis project will research churches with regards to their effectiveness and will both isolate and analyze the characteristics of churches that fit into operative categories. A survey using a quantitative research instrument, such as the Likert Measurement Scale, will examine the New Hope Missionary Baptist Association of North Carolina. The survey’s purpose will be …
Leadership Principles And Applications For Establishing A Christ-Centered Church In South Korea, Dongho Cho
Leadership Principles And Applications For Establishing A Christ-Centered Church In South Korea, Dongho Cho
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
The purpose of this project is to provide a Christ-centered, biblical Great Commission model for Presbyterian Church pastors in South Korea. Pastor Hanhum Ok said that there are many programs and forms without the spiritual vitality in the Korean Church. Many attractional churches attract people by relying heavily on programs that often alter the focus of believers onto the programs themselves and prevent them from focusing on Jesus Christ. To ensure that the church—the body of Christ—remains faithful to its biblical mandates, thesis project argues that the pastors must have leadership principles and applications in accordance to the Christ-centered biblical …
A Compassionate And Caring Guide For Those Suffering With Hiv/Aids In The Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, Sandra Gripper
A Compassionate And Caring Guide For Those Suffering With Hiv/Aids In The Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, Sandra Gripper
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
This project will develop a hands-on practical Train- the-Trainer Resource Guide to implement caring HIV/AIDS ministries for the local churches in the Carolina Region of the Christian Methodist Episcopal (CME) Church. It will become an evangelistic tool to reach and empower the most marginalized in society that will provide resources leading to transformative ministries. Many lack understanding regarding those who suffer with HIV/AIDS, and winning over those who possess judgmental attitudes and fears keeps the church at odds with those living with this disease. Nonetheless, appropriate exposure to caring HIV/AIDS ministries can empower the disenfranchised and strengthen the faith community …
An Outreach Model For Melville Mission Church: Evangelizing The Mandarin Community In Markham North, Ontario, Canada, Benjamin Li
An Outreach Model For Melville Mission Church: Evangelizing The Mandarin Community In Markham North, Ontario, Canada, Benjamin Li
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
MMC is a conservative, traditional Cantonese-speaking immigrant church that has had stagnant growth since its relocation to the rural area of Markham North, Ontario, Canada in 2009. The purpose of this project was to propose a new outreach model to enable MMC to more effective in evangelizing the Mandarin-speaking community in Markham. The proposed new outreach model is a refined version of Alan Hirsch’s Missional-Incarnational Model which mobilized the church membership to engage with the unchurched community for the Gospel. The research for this project was accomplished through studying the Chinese demographics in Markham, and through surveys of 158 mainland …
Spiritual Innovation: A Faith-Based Model To Equip Men To Become The Spiritual Leaders For The American Family In Crisis, Leonard Kitchens
Spiritual Innovation: A Faith-Based Model To Equip Men To Become The Spiritual Leaders For The American Family In Crisis, Leonard Kitchens
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
The American culture is experiencing the degradation of the family. James Dobson describes this as “America in peril.” This is not solely because of lack of spiritual leadership in the household, but the lack of which is a prominent factor for the American family in crisis. Through qualitative and quantitative analyses of 203 Christian men, this doctoral project identifies shortfalls, provides evidence of biblical responsibility, and develops a model to assist Christian men to lead their families spiritually, which is the mandate of God. Proposing a faith-based approach to preserving the Christian family, this thesis underlines the importance of the …
A Call To Excellence: Leadership Training And Mentoring Manual For Women In Ministry In The Twenty-First Century, Verna Mazak
A Call To Excellence: Leadership Training And Mentoring Manual For Women In Ministry In The Twenty-First Century, Verna Mazak
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
The growth of women in leadership within the local church is at an all-time high. These women face tremendous obstacles as they seek to lead the twenty-first century church. This thesis investigates the role of African American women in the Black Baptist church to identify skills necessary for successful leadership within the denomination. Going beyond analysis and exploration, it answers the question of how to develop a training and mentorship program specifically designed to prepare African-American women for excellence in leadership. A survey of fifty church staff and members of various Black Baptist churches was conducted to determine the perspective …
Five Challenges To Disciple Making And Strategies To Address Them, Leonard Baldwin
Five Challenges To Disciple Making And Strategies To Address Them, Leonard Baldwin
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
In today’s society, the church has missed an opportunity to make a definite impact on the lives of the congregations. Disciple making has all but disappeared from the life of the church. This has left the church with a lot of members but very few disciples. The purpose of this project is to develop five strategies to help pastors and lay leaders address the discipleship challenges in the church. The five areas that will be addressed are theology, tradition, training, time, and transparency. Each challenge will be addressed individually and a strategy developed for that challenge. This project will provide …
Spirit-Empowered Discipleship In Acts, Yan Chai
Spirit-Empowered Discipleship In Acts, Yan Chai
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
Discipleship study had unavoidably been focused on the Gospels, and rightfully so. Whereas missions and church planting tended to occupy centre stage in the study of the book of Acts, and discipleship was often overshadowed. Nevertheless, Spirit-empowered discipleship, undoubtedly, had played a crucial role in the explosive growth of the early church. The purpose of this project is to utilize the four “E” principles of discipleship implicit in Acts: empowerment, exhortation, encouragement and exaltation to galvanize growth in Faith Hope Love Chinese church. It shall investigate the discipleship pattern that existed, apply the underlying principles given, and subsequently, analyze the …
The Importance Of Preaching For The Transformation Of Christians In Korea, Ho Jung Lee
The Importance Of Preaching For The Transformation Of Christians In Korea, Ho Jung Lee
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
Korean Christians have had a problem with the transformation of their values and life-styles following their conversion. This thesis project will attempt to prove that one of the most important factors in the transformation of new believers, is biblical preaching. It will further attempt to show that much of the preaching in Korea is non-Christocentric, and this is especially ineffective in transformation. To produce transformation in new believers, churches need Christocentric preaching. This thesis project will explore Christocentric preaching’s historical background, principles, and importance. This project will also present the advantage, need, and importance of doctrinal expository preaching, especially in …
Maimonides’ Yahweh: How His Via Negativa God Influenced Rabbinic Judaism And Its Subsequent Misunderstanding Of Incarnational Christian Theology, Amy Downey
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
The life of Moshe ben Maimon (Maimonides) remains a mystery to many within evangelical Christianity while he is lauded as a “Second Moses” within Modern Judaism. In many ways, Maimonides is deserving of the title as his understanding of the nature of God being that of via Negativa created a rationale for rejecting the Messiahship claims of Jesus in Rabbinic Judaism. However, and one of the purposes of this dissertation, is to illustrate that Maimonides in his desire to create an anti-Christian apologetic regarding the Incarnation fashioned a Judaism that does not reflect the truths of the Tanakh (Old Testament) …
The Development Of The Life-Healing Program In Churches For The Restoration Of God's Image, Young Park
The Development Of The Life-Healing Program In Churches For The Restoration Of God's Image, Young Park
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
This study is an attempt to introduce a pastoral system called Life-healing to Restore God’s Image. God made man in His image when He created him. The image, however, was broken because of the fall. Even after becoming a new creation by believing in Jesus, many Christians remain the same instead of experiencing the restoration of God’s image. Korean churches have grown in number and emphasize doctrines but face criticism for not exemplifying the life resembling God’s image. In an effort to overcome the criticisms, the researcher biblically analyzes the concept of God’s image and examines the theological resources related …
The Relationship Between Parental Attachment, Religious Coping, And Self-Esteem In Korean-American Adolescents, Paul Roh
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
This study examined the relationship between insecure parental attachment, religious coping, and self-esteem with Korean-American adolescents, investigating the mediation effect of self-esteem on the relationship between insecure attachment and negative religious coping. Two hundred sixty-one Korean-American adolescents aged 12 to 18 from Korean immigrant churches in seven states completed the survey questionnaire to assess their attachment relationship with their mother and father, religious coping strategies, and self-esteem. Correlation analysis revealed significant correlations among the variables, and multiple regression analyses were used to detect the unique variance of father attachment in negative religious coping and the mediation effect of self-esteem on …
How To Impact A Nation: Leadership Lessons Learned From Jerry Falwell And The Moral Majority, George Johnson
How To Impact A Nation: Leadership Lessons Learned From Jerry Falwell And The Moral Majority, George Johnson
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
This project seeks to enhance the leadership development of the next generation by considering the perceived strengths and lessons to be learned from Jerry Falwell and the leadership of the Moral Majority (MM). The commands of Christ call the Christian to engage the culture (Matthew 5:13-16). The trend in church leadership today is too often looking forward without having looked back. Wise church leaders do both and stand on the shoulders of great leaders who have gone before, thus accomplishing “greater things” (John 14:12) for the kingdom of God. Through a survey of current church leaders, and a sampling of …
Exploring Intercessory Prayer As It Relates To Spiritual Warfare Preaching At Mount Zion Christian Church, Vernon Langley
Exploring Intercessory Prayer As It Relates To Spiritual Warfare Preaching At Mount Zion Christian Church, Vernon Langley
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
The focus of this thesis is exploring the influence of intercessory prayer; from the standpoint of spiritual warfare preaching. Present day homiletics concentrates on the method of sermons by applying information within the message to a great story and powerful scriptural passages which is imperative to make the sermon thought provoking and applicable to contemporary congregations. However, there is another element to preaching the gospel, which has gotten considerably less attention in modern day study. How the evaluations of Divine powers of intercessory prayer operate behind the discourse, and spiritual powers of darkness that endeavor to obstruct the reception of …
Developing A Model For Church-Based Disaster Relief, Brady Rose
Developing A Model For Church-Based Disaster Relief, Brady Rose
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
The purpose of this project is to provide a manual for the local church to implement in preparation for and during times of disaster. The author will specifically focus on the region of Amherst County, Virginia for this project. The author will approach this project by first defining what a disaster is and the role the church should play during times of great need. Attention will be given specifically to how the church should respond during times of disaster in foreign nations, in the United States, in nearby counties, and in the community of the church’s backyard. This project will …